Ever since I was a kid, there were jokes about a utopian future where both Nintendo and Sega mascots Mario and Sonic respectively would join forces for a game to end all games. This announcement may not herald a title that is that groundbreaking, but it does signal such a partnership that during the 16-bit era would have been unheard of. Both Sega and Nintendo have announced that their leading mascots are teaming up in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii and DS.

In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, players compete in events that take place in environments based on the official venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Slated to be published by Sega in North America and Europe and Nintendo in the Japanese market, the upcoming title will ship in time for Christmas. The game is licensed through a worldwide partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), the exclusive interactive entertainment software licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“We are thrilled to partner with Nintendo and ISM on this groundbreaking title,” said Hisao Oguchi, president and COO, Sega Corporation. “For the first time, two of the world’s greatest games’ characters come together to compete in the world’s greatest sporting event and we couldn’t be more excited.”

“Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games,” commented Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto. “In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other. Now that they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster, Mario or Sonic?”

[img]http://www.snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/03/m_s_artwork.jpg[/img]